Proposed Ahtna land swap would give Denali Borough the land under Cantwell shooting range

A proposed land swap with Ahtna would give the Denali Borough the ground under the Cantwell shooting range, Community Development Director Stephanie Ford told the borough's Community and Outdoor Recreation Committee on Wednesday. Ford said she believed the Assembly must approve any land swap.

The Denali Sportsmen Association runs the range beside the Cantwell transfer station on land leased from Ahtna. In return, Ahtna would potentially receive borough land next to an area where it may develop a resort, Ford said. The mayor has contacted the association to ask its views.

At a joint meeting in September, Assembly members and planning commissioners asked what the borough would require if a nonprofit ran a range on borough land, including liability insurance and cleanup of lead. "I'd be curious if they had any previous agreement to clean up, you know, what's already been deposited there," Borough Clerk Amber Renshaw said Wednesday. One committee member questioned why the borough would take on a range next to private landowners.

Committee Chair Tina Graham called the swap "a great testing the waters situation for potential future projects."

The committee is also helping residents look for a Healy-area range, as Healy shooters are likely to lose a gravel pit they use to state road work. After an Oct. 13 work session, the committee received eight written comments opposing a range near homes, and seven named a gravel pit off Stampede Road. Graham said someone apparently heard the borough planned to use that site. No site has been chosen.

"I don't know where in the borough that's close to Healy that we could have a shooting range that won't be heard by somebody," Graham said.